How you can help spread the message of Islam (a practical guide)...

Allah says in the Qur'aan:
"And who is better in speech than he who invites (men) to Allah (at-Tawheed and ash-Sharee'ah), and does righteous deeds? And says: 'I am one of the Muslims'." (Fussilat, 41: 33)

Allah asks us in this verse, "…who is better in speech than he who invites (people) to (the worship of) Allah…?" Da'wah (propagating Islam) is a duty upon every single Muslim wherever you are, whether you are in the West or in the East; whether you are male or female, young or old, single or married. It is a duty that is highly praised by Allah and the Messenger Muhammad (pbuh), and in fact, it is a duty known from Islaam by necessity. Any person who leaves it is in great loss, and anyone who deliberately neglects it has left the Deen of Islam.

Da'wah is not something permissible, nor is it recommended. Da'wah is fard (an obligation); which means we do not have a choice over whether or not we should carry it and how much time we should spend propagating Islam. It is something that the Sahaabah and their teacher Rasool-Allah (pbuh) gave their lives up for – to call people to worship their Lord and submit to the Sharee'ah. Even in the midst of the battlefield, the Kuffaar were always offered to embrace Islam before their necks were struck by the swords of Tawheed.

However, nowadays the da'wah has completely died as we no longer sacrifice our lives for the sake of Allah's deen to prevail. People are spending more time working, sleeping and socializing, rather than prioritizing with the Deen of Islam. This da'wah that we are speaking about is a form of verbal Jihad, and Jihad nowadays has become fard upon every single Muslim. Allah says:
"And what is wrong with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah, and for those weak, ill-­treated and oppressed among men, women, and children, whose cry is: "Our Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from you one who will protect, and raise for us from you one who will help."" (an-Nisaa, 4: 75)

On the Day of Judgement, every single one of these oppressed women and children in Falloojah, Baghdad, Afghanistan, Palestine and all over the world, will be a witness against those who sat and did nothing. Those that had knowledge but remained silent, those who had tongues but did not speak, those who were healthy but did not use their health and those who had strength but did not use it. By Allah, they will all be accounted and their Lord will ask them about what they did to help the Muslims who were suffering under the evil hands of the Kuffaar.

Therefore, is it not about time for us to leave our jobs and careers for the sake of Allah? Can you really imagine the Sahaabah being alive today? Be honest with yourself; would the Sahaabah be working full-time during the time of fitnah and fasaad (corruption), where Muslims are being killed and slaughtered, Allah's deen being ridiculed and no Sharee'ah of Islam being implemented?! By Allah we could not imagine this, for they (the Sahaabah) were not in a situation like ours; where there are 'Ulamaa (scholars) behind bars, apostate rulers allying with the Kuffaar to help kill Muslims and the Sharee'ah of Allah not being implemented.

It is for this reason that da'wah nowadays has become even more a priority than it originally was, especially in our times, as Islam is under complete attack by the Zindeeq (heretic) secularists and the Kuffaar, via the internet, newspapers, radio, television and satellite etc. You should feel obliged to clarify and refute any misconceptions about Islaam that may have arisen due to the satanic work of the Kuffaar and the hypocrites (MCB, MPACUK, CAIR, MAB, ISB, YM, IFE etc.). Moreover, you should also feel obliged to forbid the munkar (evil) – such as voting for man-made law, and arbitrating to the Taahout - things that these corrupted people are propagating, or else Allah will punish you the way He will inevitably punish them. The Messenger Muhammad (pbuh) said:
"By he in whose hand is my soul! You will command the good and forbid the evil, or Allaah shall send down a punishment from him to you. Then you will supplicate to him (ask him for help), but he will not accept your supplication."
(Musnad al-Imaam Ahmad, Musnad al-Ansaar, hadeeth Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamaan)

And Allah says:
"And fear the Fitnah (affliction and trial, etc.) which affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong (but it may afflict all the good and the bad people who do not forbid the munkar), and know that Allah is severe in punishment." (al-Anfaal, 8: 25)

Therefore dear brothers and sisters, if you wish for your Lord not to angry with you, you must carry da'wah and work hard for His Deen. This Message of Islam can only be carried out in accordance with the manhaj (methodology) of our beloved Messenger Muhammad (pbuh), His Companions (ra) and as-Salaf us-Saalih; which was via Da'wah (by the tongue) and Jihaad (by the sword).

We are desperately in need for sincere Mujaahideen, da'wah carriers and Tullaab ul-'Ilm (Seekers of Knowledge) who are not just sitting around doing nothing (or even doing very little), thinking they will go to Paradise with no hardship. The Taalib ul-'Ilm does not only memorize the Qur'aan, listen to talks, read books and waste time on internet chat rooms and forums; the Taalib ul-'Ilm is the one who is commanding good and forbidding evil, following the Salaf, carrying da'wah and working for this Deen day and night. Therefore, if you are spending more time working than carrying da'wah, know that you are not a Taalib ul-'Ilm and you are only fooling yourself.

Based upon these reasons we have decided to produce this article "How you can help spread the message of Islam (a practical guide)". Nowadays, despite the fact that there is so much modern technology which can make our duty of carrying Islam and forbidding munkar easier, people are still lazy and do nothing to help the Muslims and even themselves from being saved from Allah's punishments.

We must remember that modern day technologies, such as the internet, mobile phones, fax, radio etc. will all be a witness against us if we do not utilize them for the sake of Allah and his Deen.

This guide was produced for those who want to fulfil their duties and responsibilities of carrying da'wah and forbidding the munkar, but do not know how to do so or are running out of ideas, styles and means. We hope that we and you can benefit from this small piece of advice and Insha'Allah become more active in striving for Islam.

Public da'wah (outside)
This is undoubtedly the best way of inviting people to Islam. As we have mentioned above, in the past the method of carrying da'wah was done by the sword, and hence Jihad is the best way of carrying da'wah as it is the Foreign Policy of the Islamic state and its purpose is to make people submit to the Commands of Allah.

However, today we do not have an Islamic state to carry Islam as a political way of life, nor do we have the capability to enforce Islam upon the people as so many Muslims are sleeping, we must resort to the struggle that the Messenger Muhammad (saw) and His Companions engaged in before they established Islam as a political way of life and Sharee'ah. However, this does not mean that Jihaad cannot be carried out to establish Allah's Deen. We are now speaking about capability. Since many of us (especially those living in the West) are not capable of doing physical Jihad, we must at least resort to the verbal form.

Public da'wah can be done in many ways, such as by demonstrations, conferences, rallies, processions, stalls, exhibitions, circles etc. These are the best ways to carry da'wah as these were the styles and means adopted by the Salaf. If you are an individual, it may be difficult for you to organize a demonstration or rally, therefore try organizing weekly circles or talks, stalls or conferences which all require little man power. You will be surprised how much one sincere individual can do for the sake of Allah. However, make sure that your da'wah is done to society i.e. everyone: men, women, Muslims and non-Muslims.

If giving da'wah to non-Muslims is too difficult, then you can restrict your da'wah to Muslims alone and ‘recruit’ them to become a follower of as-Salaf us-Saalih, by having closed Halaqaat (circles) – maybe in your home or elsewhere, or talks for only Muslims. However, remember that the Kuffaar have a right over you: to invite them to Islam, thus look for an alternative method or style to invite them to Islam.

Another public activity you can do is distribution. Spend some time, maybe every week, photocopying leaflets which you can distribute in the markets or at the Mosque after Salaat ul-Jumu'ah. You can also distribute outside schools, colleges and universities etc. You can also go out fly posting or putting up placards. However, remember that it is illegal to fly post and placard on certain things or areas!

If you cannot find speakers for talks, become a speaker yourself and do not be a coward! The Kuffaar and people of baatil (falsehood) are so proud and shameless in propagating their kufr and shirk; for greater reason should we not be fearless in propagating Islam when we know that we have the haq?
Don't forget that you can also spread Islam by phoning radio stations and television programs. But remember to keep your point short and sharp as whenever you speak the haq you will always get cut-off straight away!

Private da'wah (indoors)
You must also never forget your family and friends. Though these people may reject you just like they did the Sahaabah, but it does not mean that you should abandon them. Spend some time in the week meeting friends and families, keeping in mind to maintain Sharee'ah rules of segregation between foreign men/women, and try initiating the conversations yourself, speaking about the affairs of the Muslim Ummah and the global Crusade against Allah and His Messenger (pbuh).

Writing articles and books
Another good and successful way to spread Islam is by writing articles and books, though this should not be your only way of propagating Islam. The public da'wah must be given utmost importance, and everything else is supplementary.

If you find it difficult to write articles yourself, simply copy and paste! If you look at the works of, for example Ibn Taymiyyah or Ibn Katheer, they are almost identical to the works of Ahmad bin Hanbal. This is because Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah are not people who innovate new matters and you will often find their material very, if not exactly similar to the Salaf.

However, make sure that your articles are not in a way 'just to get it off my neck'. There is no point in producing articles that only make sense to you and your friends. Put yourself in the position of a person who has never studied the topic before, who does not have a high level of the language, or even someone who has just started practicing Islam, and therefore will not understand terms like Salaf, Jihad, Khilaafah etc.

As a general guideline, try making your articles in a structure such as Problem, Solution and Action. Highlight in detail the problem you are addressing in ways whereby the reader starts to realize or feel that it is a major issue. Then give a solution followed by practical actions that one can undertake in order to activate that solution. Once you have done this, you can photocopy your articles or even send them to websites and ask the webmasters if they could upload your articles.

As a Muslim, your concern should be to preserve and propagate the Deen, not yourself! Therefore there is nothing wrong with copying and pasting from other people's work, so long as it is in accordance with the understanding of the Pious Predecessors.

Both articles and books have their ups and downs. From our experience, we find that articles are more effective than books, especially with newly practicing Muslims who do not have the enthusiasm or will power to read a lengthy book, especially over the internet. Also, there is more chance that your article will get published, as books are expensive to produce. Remember, you can produce more articles in the time it takes you to produce one book!

If you find you have no confidence at all in writing articles then you have the option of downloading and printing articles from the internet and distributing them or even taking ideas from them. The more effort you put into doing this sincerely, you will soon find you are developing the skill and confidence of writing articles yourself.

Also it is vital that you get your articles double-checked by someone else because it is very easy to overlook your own mistakes.

The Internet
The internet is a very modern and excellent way of spreading Islam. Think about it; you could spend hundreds of pounds booking a conference, paying for food and advertising etc. and only, let's say, 300 hundred on average people turn up.

However, you could spread the Message of Islam to people all over the world just by building up your own database of email addresses and then making your own mailing list; or even better, by making your own website. Making your own website is not as daunting as it may seem; it is quite simple, easy and very cost effective.

Building your own website/blog
A website can be designed with many programs nowadays, even Word! However, more popular packages people use are, for example, Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver – which is a more user-friendly and easier program to use. Or even the Host (those who provide the service for you) of your website should provide you with a free site building tool, depending on what service you are receiving. However, do not make the design or the presentation of your website a major or even vital issue. The most important thing is to spread the knowledge, not for your website to look great, so long as the website looks decent and good enough to attract people to visit it.

To start building a website you first need a host. This can be done by searching on Google or any other popular search engine. You will most likely be offered hundreds of hosts, but you must sift through them and choose the one that suits you. You must also choose a domain name. We advise that you try to choose a host that allows you to pay monthly, as opposed to paying all upfront for the year. This is because if your website is Islamic and propagates the views of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah, most likely your website will get shut down and you will lose all your money!

Some hosts that you can try are: Fasthosts.co.uk, 357domains.com, OneandOne.com, Easyspace.com etc. However, we advise you to choose a host which is based outside your country, or at least avoid the US due to their explicit hatred towards Islam and Muslims, and the fact that they will shut your site down before you get a chance to upload it.

Once you have chosen your host, they will give you FTP details that will allow you to update and upload your website to the internet. Your host should provide you with manuals or help with uploading your website, or ask any trustworthy Muslim to help you. If you cannot afford to pay for a website, try a host that provides the service for free, such as Geocities or Lycos.

We also advise that you submit your website to search engines. This can cost quite a bit (between £30 to £200 depending on the service) but is worth it. Put yourself in the position of a person in, for example, Zimbabwe. How would you find your site unless someone you know gives you a direct link. Therefore, by submitting your site to a search engine such as Google, people will be able to type in keywords you have chosen, such as Islam, da'wah etc. and it should become easier for them to find your site 'by chance'.

Nowadays we are in great need for Islamic websites that propagate the understanding of the Salaf, especially since most REAL Islamic websites are being shutdown by the Kuffaar and the hypocrites. Therefore we advise you to open as many websites as you can and copy the material of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah to your website.

Another way in which you can use the internet to spread Islam is via software such as Paltalk. This software provides chat rooms for people from all over the world, and many people are using it nowadays to give talks and lectures. Therefore why not try organizing talks yourself or even visit rooms that are speaking about Islam in accordance with the understanding of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah; but beware of those deviant people who are spreading their own 'version' of Islam.

This is just some small advice which will, Insha'Allah get you started in propagating Islam in many styles and means. We hope that you will benefit from this and put what you have learnt into action. Remember that Allah will account you on the Day of Resurrection as to how much you conveyed the Message of Islam and forbade the munkar and attack against Islam and Muslims.